Malihabad

"According to tradition, the town was founded by Malia a Pasi ; but nothing is known of its history till the reign of Akbar, when it was inhabited by Pathans.[1] [2] The place is said to have been founded by one malia, a pasi, but nothing is known of this person,[3] although is appears that the Pasis and Arakhs held sway over this and the surrounding villages form the earliest time. It is also said that the Pasis has mint here and the their coins have sometimes been found, from which the town gained its name of Khonta Shahr or the city of the bad money. Nothing definite, however, is known of the place till the time of Akbar, when it was colonized by the Pathans. The date of the Muslman occupation in uncertain, but it has been suggested that is occurred as oarly as the time of Muhammad Bakhtiya Khilji, who invaded Oudh in 1202. Prior to the time of Shuja-ud-daula it seems that the principal sites were bakhtiyarnagar and Garhi Sanjar Khan. During his reign the Pathan proprietors granted as portion of malihabad, known as the Kenwal-har, to Faqir Muhammad Khan, as Afridi Pathan of Rohilkhand. The bazar Mirzaganj was built by Mirza Hasan Beg But before this the old bazar is found in Village Garhi sanjar khan, as official of the Oudh Government. The other bazar of Amaniganj beyond the railway station owes its origin to Asaf-ud-daula, who built the place on his way to fight with the Rohillas.[4]"It is said to have been the chief seat of the Arakhs or Pasis, and to have been founded by Malia Pasi, whose brother Salia founded Sandila in Hardoi. Even under the- rule of this tribe it must have been a place of considerable importance. The Pasi had power and independence enough to have a mint here, and to this day coin of his time is said to be occasionally dug up, giving it thereby the name in native traditions of the Khonta Shahar, " the city of the bad money."[5]

Malihabad prides itself on Nawab Faqueer Mohammad Khan 'Goya', the poet and courtier of Awadh; "Shaayar-e-Inquilaab"Padma Bhushan Josh Malihabadi(born as Shabbir Hasan Khan),who later migrated to Pakistan after this. Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi, Abrar hasan khan asar Malihabadi, Ahmad Saeed Malihabadi take place in poetry ; Padma Shri Ghaus Mohammad Khan, the tennis player and Anwar Nadeem, stage artist, writer and poet. was born in Malihabad (India) in 1962. It has also produced some great writers like Mohsin Khan who possess a remarkable writing style. His Urdu play Khvab ki Ta'bir was awarded first prize in a radio-play contest drawing participants from nineteen Indian languages.[6] after all we also remark some famous hindi writers and poet bhaskar malihabdi is one of Malihabadi Poet he Wrote Khand Kavya on Rani Durgavati Later, due to economic reasons, he had to go to Madhya Pradesh[7] Now in Malihabad our New inqlabi and loving poet and socialist writerArun malihabadi is nowadays popular with their quotes.[8][9]

Malhiabad is also known as the Mango Capital Of India. Most Known Varieties of Mangoes in Malhiabad are:

Dashehari: One of the most popular varieties of northern India, it is a mid-season mango. Fruits are medium-sized, with pleasant flavour, sweet, firm and fibreless pulp. Stone is thin and keeping quality good.

Chausa: Late-maturing variety of mangoes, it matures during July or beginning of August. Fruits are large, weighing about 350 g (12 oz) each. Fruits are bright yellow with soft and sweet pulp. It is shy bearing.

Langra: An important commercial mango variety of north India, it is biennial- bearer and a midseason variety, with good quality fruits. The flesh is firm, lemon yellow in color and scarcely fibrous. It has characteristic turpentine flavour. Keeping quality is medium.

Lakhnaua Safeda: For the one, who loves the juicy syrupy fruit instead of the pulpy one, can find no better variety than this.

A Few Rare Varieties:

Munzar Aamin: The variety is generally produced by the end of the season and appears almost round in size instead of the regular shape of a mango. It can be relished both by sipping the juice and by cutting it into slices and chomping the thick pulpy fruit.

Nazeer Pasand: These varieties of mangoes are not at all fibril and can be found by the time of the season when Dashehari starts disappearing from the market.

Japani Lakhnaua: The variety representing the blend of two countries and unity among them is named after the shape of the tree and its bracts. What makes it different from the other varieties is its palatableness, which is not only sweet but starts getting sour as one reaches toward the dorsal of the fruit.

Kaccha Meetha: This unique variety of mangoes are rare to find and are known for their sweet taste even when they are raw and ripe.

Paan: As the name suggests the fruit is in shape of a ‘paan’ with mushy yellow pulp. As compared to the look it weighs heavier and each fruit is of approximately half a kg.

Ramkela: These are special mango variety, which is only used to make pickles. It does not get ripe and remains sour throughout. To get these, you have to wait until end of July when they are at their best to be pickled.

Kala Pahad: Abhorrent in looks, this variety of mangoes tastes in three different flavors at the same time which disparate it among all other varieties of mangoes.

Jauhari Safeda: The variety makes it presence even before the Dashehari in the market and can be found even after the season ends for Dashehari.[10]

Malihabad is located at 6.92°N 80.72°E / 6.92; 80.72.[11] It has an average elevation of 128 metres (419 feet).The main areas in Malihabad are Mirzaganj, Syedwara, Chaudrana and Kewalhar. And Malihabad major people belong to the rural area and there are most probably 187 village and 67 gram panchayat also included under the tahsheel of Malihabad.

As of 2001 India census,[12] Malihabad had a population of 15,806. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Malihabad has an average literacy rate of 52%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 59%, and female literacy is 45%. In Malihabad, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Dasheri mango plantations is one of the major income sources of the region, with mangoes being exported to many neighbouring countries. Dasheri Mango is very delicious and known for its sweetness and soft pulp.

The Filmfare Award winner (1979) and winner of National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (1978), film Junoon was mostly shot in the Mahals of Malihabad. The 1978 Urdu film was produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Shyam Benegal and was a hit of its time. The film was based on Ruskin Bond novella A Flight of Pigeons. And other films like (shourgul), (mulk) and show like (savdhaan india) and south film shoot in Malihabad. Malihabad and its famous mangoes find mention multiple times during the movie Lakshya.

• Ghaus Mohammad Khan, sportsperson
• Josh Malihabadi, writer, revolutionary poet
• Kaleem Ullah Khan
• Bhaskar Malihabadi , writer, Hindi poet
• Arun malihabadi, public figure , Rising Malihabadi poet

8- THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA VOL- XVII MAHBUBABAD TO MORADABAD PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY'S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA IN COUNCIL, OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS, IN 1908 BY HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, LONDON, EDINBURGH NEW YORK AND TORONTO. PAGE NO 90 HEADING- MALIHABAD LUCKNOW 9-A GAZETTEER BEING VOLUME XXXVII OF THE DISTRICT GAZETTEERS OF THE UNITED PROVINCES OF AGRA AND OUDH COMPILED AND EDITED BY H.R. NEVILL. I.C.S. ALLAHABAD PRINTED BY F. LUKER, SUPDT, GOVT, PRESS, UNITED PROVINCES 1904. PAGE NO 237 & 238 UNDER THE HEAD OF MALIHABAD, PARGANA AND TAHSIL MALIHABAD.

10- GAZETTER OF THE PROVINCE OF OUDH VOL- II H TO M PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY, ALLAHABD NORTHWESTERN PROVINCE AND OUDH GOVERNMENT PRESS. 1877. PAGE NO 427